Kapil Dev Quotes

There is no specific formula that you need to follow to do well on certain wickets.

Well, I've always prefered playing spin off the back foot because, to my mind, it takes short leg and silly point out of the equation.

According to the situation, your role changes in one-day cricket, especially in a phase like the Powerplay. If I bowl four spells, four times I will be playing a different role. If I come in the first Powerplay, and say the opposition are 70 for no loss after 10 overs, I will be looking to take a wicket.

The batsman does not always need to create big hits. He can hit a boundary, then pick up some singles and still gets nine runs. To avoid that, I need to plan in a way where he must look to hit wherever there is a fielder. That is what is called 'bowling to the field.'

The era of playing aggressive cricket and to have the mid-on up is gone. You now try to read the mindset of a batsman.

The more allrounders you have, the more difficult it becomes for the opposition. The reason being, if you have players who can bat and bowl, and if they are proper allrounders - they may be spinning or fast-bowling allrounders - they add to the strength of the team.

In the U.A.E., the wickets are on the slower side. You can't play through the line; you need to take your time and be patient.

T20 cricket is all about using variations, and timing has to be perfect.

When you are bowling with a new ball, there are only two fielders outside the circle. With the old ball, batsmen don't care how many guys are outside the circle.

In the middle order the game is a little more laid out for you, whether you are batting first or chasing down a score, so you are a bit more reactive to the situation in front of you. Opening up, it is pretty much a blank canvas and dependent on how you play.

I feel, as a captain, that when you face a batsman who plays spin well you feel as if you are a fielder short.

Cricket is not rocket science. Bowlers often get wickets through perseverance, accuracy and being patient rather than trying to blast opposition teams out.

Dotting teams up and bowling maidens back to back cannot be underestimated in Australian conditions because it gives you control of the game.

It's important on any English wicket to leave well.

As a bowler, you want to go and bowl in helpful conditions in South Africa, England, and Australia. But it is also important to bowl in the right areas, and they differ from bowler to bowler, depending on conditions and the opposition.

The history of Test cricket will suggest if you hold the top of off longer than anyone else you will have success, in England particularly it's about owning the top of off.

I enjoy wicket-keeping in the shorter format. I think when we are bowling first, it gives me an idea of how the wicket is behaving.

In India, the wicket tends to get a bit slower once the ball gets old, but in England, it's pretty much the same whether it's new ball or old ball.

The off spinner's job is to contain; for me, leg spinners need to have a bigger heart than anyone else because it is easy to blame them.

First six overs are important because if you put runs on board, it will take the pressure off the other batsmen.

I am a big fan of the five-bowler strategy.

If you are batting first as an opener, you give yourselves a couple of overs, see what's the wicket behaving, and then try to assess what a good score on that wicket would be, and then you plan accordingly.

You have to be smart on your feet. It will be hard on wickets where the ball will keep low. Hopefully, you can get one to fly, and that puts doubts in the batsman's mind.

You can come up with all the gameplans that you want but the guys in the middle have to execute those plans. If Jimmy Anderson or Stuart Broad serves up a leg-stump half-volley, you can't turn round and blame Andy Flower.

Usually a captain will allow his bowler to set the field, while exercising overall control and maintaining the authority to step in if he sees fit.